Podcast Week: Mark Pesce’s car show, GoT, Denton, UMG & Wondery

Mark Pesce’s The Next Billion Cars

Podcaster, teacher, consultant and futurist Mark Pesce knows a lot about cars and what’s coming for drivers and the industry. And what he doesn’t know he tracks down specialists who do.

His latest podcast series is PodcastOne’s The Next Billion Cars.

“We manufacture two cars a second globally,” was his first impressive stat when he spoke to Mediaweek. “That means it only take 15 years to manufacture 1 billion cars. Everyone has agreed the car that we will have in 15 years will be very different from the car we have today. No one has agreed on what that means nor what that car looks like.”

He did note that it would not be petrol driven, either electric or using some sort of other fuel.

“One of the biggest industries of the 20th century is now being assaulted by massive change on every front.”

The Next Billion Cars examines all of those challenges across 10 episodes and what it means for drivers and the carmakers.

The first episode is called The Next Billion Problems. “We went to the Detroit Auto Show which is now a wasteland. The manufacturers are staying away from it. They are all at CES, which is the week before. CES is the future, Detroit is the past.”

Other topics are electric vehicles, changes in design and performance of cars powered by something other than petrol.

While some smaller countries are transitioning quickly to electric vehicles, Pesce said the game changer was when China said it hoped to be largely transitioned to electric vehicles by 2030. “When China made that announcement every auto manufacturer immediately went all in on electric cars.”

He noted the development of the electric car is linked directly to battery technology. “You need to have the right amount of battery storage to get people over certain distances.”

Working with Pesce on this series are Sally Dominguez, a rally driver, inventor, educator and journalist, plus Drew Smith, a designer working for a Volvo subsidiary in Gothenburg.

There is no surprise that in the iTunes TV & Film category this week the chart was flooded with GoT podcasts.

One of the hottest local productions was Mamamia Recaps and their first episode dedicated to GoT episode one, season eight. After a long run of recaps of MAFS, the GoT episode is a welcome change of subject.

Major music group announces podcast initiative

Universal Music Group (UMG) and Wondery, which bills itself as the largest independent podcast publisher, have announced an agreement to develop premium original podcasts drawing upon the breadth and depth of UMG’s musical catalogue as well as its iconic roster of artists and labels.

Podcasts produced under the agreement will be available globally on any platform Wondery makes its content available.

The new podcasts will serve as an extension of the narratives and content that UMG is already creating around its artists, labels and catalogue. Working with Wondery’s network of storytellers, the podcasts are promising to provide fans and new audiences alike with deeper perspectives on artists, music and events that influence and shape culture.

The podcasts will also become an incubator for UMG’s growing slate of film and television projects, as well as a platform to reach audiences with content from short and long-form programming from the company’s Polygram Entertainment and its numerous record labels worldwide. UMG has been developing and producing podcasts for local audiences around the world since 2012.

Andrew Denton podcast launches today

Nova Entertainment and Acast this week announced the launch of a new AndrewDenton podcast series. Available from 18 April, Interview with Andrew Denton is a branded a podcast for anyone who wants to understand what makes people tick.

The first episode has now been published and features Denton’s 2018 TV interview with Daniel Johns.

My Top 5: Elaine Quirke

The long-form episodes have a lot of it-just-makes-sense content. Two stand-out episodes feature Yuval Noah Harari (of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind) and Laura Vanderkam, who is obsessed with topics of work-life balance and time management. Skip the short podcasts though, they can be cheesy and annoying.

In Good Company with Otegha Uwagba

I’ve fallen in love with the intelligent rants and inspiring women who feature on this London-based podcast focusing on the intersection of creativity and business. Each episode is an honest, open conversation with inspiring but accessible women, so it’s very much like being drawn into a conversation with them. I come out the other side full of ideas and ready for whatever life throws at me.

The Daily

I listen to this NYT podcast religiously, just before I go to bed – I actually miss it if I don’t. I’ve put all my friends onto it and I feel like I know the host personally after years of listening to his voice. I guarantee that you will fall in love with Michael Barbaro’s smarts, charm and wit (if you’re obsessed with US and global politics and are slightly left leaning).

Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History Podcast

Michael Gladwell can do no wrong in my eyes. I love everything he writes so listening to his podcast of counterintuitive tales about historical moments he’s deemed “overlooked and misunderstood’ is a no brainer. The marketer in me also loves that he’s bucked the advertising trends of Blue Apron and Mailchimp and went with a history orientated Chanel sponsorship, which just made me admire him and the podcast more.

TBD with Tina Brown

Tina Brown is the legendary editor of Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The Daily Beast fame. I started my TBD journey by listening to her interview with Hillary Clinton and went on to spend a lovely afternoon listening to actors, politicians, journalists, and the newsmakers of tomorrow’s views on the world today. It helps me keep my finger on the pulse.

My Top 5: Tina Zissis

Executive Assistant, OMD Exec Team

Shameless

“For smart women who love dumb stuff”. Zara McDonald and MichelleAndrews are two Melbourne based journalists who basically make you feel like you’re hanging with your friends talking all things pop culture. The best thing about it? There’s also a FB community where the chat continues. Intelligent conversation, and thought-provoking debate.

Guys We F*cked

I love everything about this “Anti-Slut Shaming” podcast. Corinne and Krystyna are two New York comedians who cover all things sex and relationships. Nothing’s off the table in their interviews which I love! They interview people from a wide range of communities from trans to polyamorous and everything in between. You’ll be in stitches.

Say Bible

A podcast for the Kardashian Konnoisseur hosted by Natalie Franklin and Kathleen E. Lee. I’m one of those people who hates to love the Kardashians yet here I am proudly announcing I listen to a weekly poddy on them! This podcast is my secret haven of Kardashian goss and, boy, do they get into the nitty gritty.

The Informed Pregnancy

Aside from being a busy EA to our CEO, I’m also a certified childbirth educator and doula! Dr Elliot Berlin is entertaining, informative and unbiased as he interviews a range of people covering all things pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. Think nutrition, tongue tie, hospital vs homebirth, induction methods and pelvic floor health to name a few. Some of my favourite episodes include Hilary Duff and Teresa Palmer’s before and after birth stories.

Mugglecast

I’m a Harry Potter nut. Andrew, Micah and Eric host the most in depth episodes on all things from the HP Universe. I listen to this and get so deep into the Wizarding World that I take my headphones out and get sad about being a muggle again.